Robin Williams, man whose energy and drive seemed inexhaustible when ever he was out in public today was found dead at his home. To people it came a surprise, but in truth you could see his depression and its influence in his art, he was a realist through it all, his piercing satire, dark jokes and twinkle in the corner of the eye jokes all pointed to a keen observer who thought about things in his own time, dwelled on them and did his best to make light of them to deal with them.

Robin Williams was my childhood hero, I loved his movies, I had unquenchable thirst for his on screen appearances and I adored the man. As I grew older, his humor and his art always seemed to be adapting just like made for me and how I matured in life, it always found that hook to reel me in and make me laugh with.

Was it then just silly comedies, kids movies, stand up comedy or appearances in talk shows, Robin always brought with him a full plate of content and comedy, it seemed that his first priority was to bring joy and relief, a moment of laughter to people in this world that he may have perceived dark and unforgiving place. There always was a sense of urgency and need to his behavior, like a father protecting his child from hail.

Williams grasped the attention of those who gave him any and held it tightly with his antics, a masterful distraction, a guaranteed smile, was it then that of awkward third hand embarrassment or outright amusement, and it was most valuable thing Robin could give, always welcoming and warm when approached by fans, always inappropriate in his jokes to set others at ease about themselves around him.

It takes a specific understanding of the darkness to truly respect the light you can cast into it, and Robins torch was a mighty one, one he carried as far as his strength let him. I, like him have no belief of supernatural, so I can't say I hope he is in better place now, but I can rejoice that he made this world a better place on his part with his legacy and art. He left us many laughs and smiles, and that is a grand accomplishment. One to truly revere.

I wish his family strength in this loss and that they might find some solace in the love and respect Robin receives from his fans even after his death.

Yup, I have been invited there and I will be showing up, hopefully a few new pony sculptures and pictures in tow! I plan to document a process of creating a pony sculpture and miscellaneous related steps to replicate them in cast resin. Also I will prepare other things like digital painting progress flow for those curious of how I make my arts.

Lauren Faust asked over at ponychan the following:Why do you think this show resonated with so many people this way? Craig and I have discussed that while shows like Powerpuff and Sponge Bob have a much farther reach and get better ratings, no one has conventions entirely dedicated to those shows. What did it (and how can I do it again?!?!?!?!?!)

And I have been thinking the answer to this myself a long while too, observing it from inside the fandom as well as done my best to reflect upon it from outside it.

I think what happened was that meanwhile shows like PPG and Sponge Bob may be more to general taste, the ponies had in them the one element all others were lacking: Reputation as something terrible.

Ponies for the longest time had remained as the "brainless crap that nobody cared about and just was contrived commercial to sell toys with" without any ambition to reach beyond that, and without the passion and love to even try to use this basis for anything more.

Then along came someone who gave a damn, our beloved hero for girls entertainment Mrs. Faust and she poured her heart into this project. She cared for the characters, she grew up with the pony toys and had gone through a million adventures with them in her creative mind.

From all this love and care she had out came something so real and so vibrant that whom ever was there to give this series a look, a fair chance and a bit of thought was going to be chained in to the same passion that created the ponies and that passion would ignite a fire within all those who look at the show and have in them even a stain left of passion and empathy- This fire is what has changed so many lives, it is something that has inspired bronies to create, to socialize, to let go of the oppression of gender roles chains and just enjoy freely about entertainment aimed for PEOPLE, not just little girls, not just a demographic, but for people. Content derived from the hearts of real individuals.

This is also why Bronies and other fans of the show are so eager to react to contrived plot twists and moves that are clearly corporate pandering with disappointment, fear and anguish. They fear to lose this little beautiful piece of passion that gave light to them in their lives when all seemed dark and monotone.

I know that to me Ponies rekindled hope for real effort and love mattering when you create something, heart really can make a difference, and thanks to Lauren Faust I feel like my love and passion for art has reawaken after years of just treating it just as work. And now I am working on my long term project I had almost given up on because all I saw was shallow pandering bullshit being sold to masses, and it actually sinking in like it was a brick of gold on a sea of shit.

Ponies gave me hope, like they did to so many more creative people.That is what is the magic in it, why the conventions gather us together and why we so love to over analyze and pick apart this series. Because we see the care and love put into building it, we perceive potential and depth not even there always and this is the greatest gift any medium can give to anyone.

Thank you for that Lauren. Thank you for working as a shining beacon.And thank you Bronies, for giving her art and heart a chance to reach you.

I decided to make a journal about this since it is a question I encounter a lot "why are you one?" And people expect some simple single answer one liner about it to get this big "Aha!" from it.

But reality is more complicated, as it always is.What makes one a brony? It is not one specific episode, or a one specific pony, or some moment, line or a scene. People do not like sports teams just because there's a specific player who did a thing back then when... And people do not like Skyrim just because you can swing a sword in it.

To be a fan, you embrace a world of reasons that appeal to you, speak to you in a deeper level, was it then the nature of teamwork in sports or a type of humor and social interaction in a TV series, the strategic elements and resource management in games or what ever else you can think of. and bronies are not any different.

Bronies do not like pony just because of the silly colors or "plot", they like the messages the show has, they love the characters and how they behave, how the friendship is valued in the show and how the ponies learn and come to value each others merits regardless of interpersonal differences. The show appeals to me, and I'd like to think also to others also because of how it depicts friendship as a strong force that allows people to forgive and tolerate different backgrounds and social classes in order to enjoy each others company and be stronger as a whole.

It should not be a real mystery why someone likes pastel ponies, when all it takes is to take a look at the show yourself and stick to it a bit to at least begin to see why someone else would like it. I am aware how easy it is to shove your own head up your arse and feel superior to all when you can judge them for anything that is different from what you see as a norm when your entire world perceptions consists of the contents of your rectum. This is a very popular choice and helps people to create a little comfortable bubble to live in, in a vast and varied world filled with new strange things and scary unknowns.

The tragedy of that lifestyle is that when your head is firmly up your own behind, you do not see what all you miss, and as cozy and warm it might be, the open world and fresh air in the end will be ten times as rewarding and refreshing.

This is why it is important to keep open mind, and instead of questioning why someone is fan of something, look into it yourself and give things a fair go, find your own reasons to like it, and if you then fail, ask, and accept the answer, do not judge it just because it differs from your own.

Yeah, I am a bit slow to react to these news but I usually like to take my time in forming my opinions and conclusions. So here is my two nickels worth:

As far as the animation goes I liked the movements and the dynamic feel it has that is pretty much thanks to knowhow of DHX. There all is good and dandy.Story I have only the faintest of clues from the trailer, but it seems passable too, definitely can see the genius of Meghan at work regardless of the inane high school setting. Great writers can make good stuff to any settings, and that's Meghan for sure. I trust in her ability to produce a quality product.

But then comes the area of the Equestria Girls where my own know how of art steps in that I have to hit the breaks and stop to ask "what the Buck were they thinking?" because it was pretty bad.Regardless of the animation effort and the attempts to stay in model for the ponies human counterparts the figures of these characters are more and more disturbing to me.

The characters are pencil thin, with more bulk in their weird knee high boots than in their entire midsection, then all is decorated with clichétastic bobble head and eye shape that leaves much to be desired for.The main appeal to ponies visual style was that they are adorably pudgy and stubby, all kinds of cute that just makes you D'aww your heart out. So why did the human versions of them look like runaways from a toothpick box?

There are millions of ways to make characters cute, a prime example of that were the short candy racers from Wreck it Ralph, none of them looked like they are suffering from eating disorder (in a world composed of candy, go figure) and moved in adorable and dynamic way regardless.

Why did we have to get these seen-a-million-times stick figures instead? Why is that anyone's idea of making appealing characters and role models for kids? Why can't this stupid idealization of skeletal figure be over with already?

I know there likely are million bad answers to those hypothetical questions but in the end, things are what they are and as much as MLP was inspiring thanks to Faust, the current head of the production either lacks spine to push back with, or sense to make good choices, either way I can't help but to feel a bit disappointed in DHX in that aspect.

Good people anyhow, care a a lot for the fans, are all around lovely and participating bunch, but I think only Lauren had the fortitude of character to at least try to push back, because she is a visionary woman of passion.I love all the crew behind MLP, for being the good sports they are and I know I can't ask or expect them to really put up a fight in things that they likely didn't even think about in very high detail. Work in production is fast paced and many ideas do not have the time they deserve to mature.

Anyway, that was my two cents about EG. I will see it when possible for me here in Finland, and I am sure I will enjoy it, but it takes a bit of constant upkeep of forgiveness as those stick figures try to take as little space from the background as they can.Cheers all who arse over to read this, and remember to smile or else Pinkie will get you.

So, the last month of the year, The time of the year we think the year is getting stale and prepare to change the number to a bigger and fresher one.

Isn't that how it works?

So, how many of you are planning to make gingerbread ponies instead of gingerbread men this year? I have been thinking of way to make a nice MLP style mold for them and would like any possible hints for good material for that.

Where goes the line where verbal content becomes offensive?This is an age old question which has troubled public communities and governments since first one was established.

It is often so that the weaker the system is or more frail proposition it possesses the more eager it is to stifle expression and censor words.But there is also other side to the coin, but the concepts that might be harmful as forms of expression are ones that rely on lies and can not survive critical examination. This is why they often seek to actively slander the opposition and try to criminalize it making ad hominems and deploying similar distraction tactics where the attention is directed away from the subject matter and into the "nature" of the challenger.

Thus I think that true freedom of expression is indeed freedom of and from expression. Thus nobody is forced to say a prayer or forced to learn the sciences, but this ideally comes with a price that those whom opt out of study of facts (like evolution) and select ignorance over knowledge should be then stripped of rights to influence in the society by vote or appeal.

This freedom of expression then allows ignorant opinions to have a natural death. And what comes to trolls and other grievous individuals, they do not need to be forcibly silenced, just effectively ignored. It is not an idea when it has no backing to it and it is not an opinion when it has no point to it. Hate / idiocy is not a point so those kind of comments are nothing more then personal reminders for the people who make them that how immature they used to be, as they run into them later in their life.

Kreoss, I first want to say I admire you guys behind the show, for all your magnificent effort on the show in every part of its production, it is always as impressive to see, frame by frame even how well this series in animated and how delightful the background artwork is among many other fantastic things.

Then to this issue with Derpy. After in depth contemplation to put words to this all and perhaps illustrate further the entire source of this hullabaloo and how it even became an issue I have landed to this conclusion:

Derpy Hooves to Bronies stands to mark the relationship of this wonderful, talented collection of individuals working on this show and the fandom. She is like a monument, a statue erected to celebrate the new kind of media where everyone who enjoys the show also can have a smidgen of influence into its future content. This fills the bronies with hope and joy, it gives us a real relationship to this show and through that to its characters, we feel that much closer to the show and people who create it when our inside jokes reach the show.

This is a beautiful image that Derpy painted of media in future. No longer are people subjected to take what is dished out, but they can even influence the content a little, reinforcing their passion and resilience to stay with the show when they have hope of seeing more of their love manifested in the show. But when Derpy scene was corrected and her name removed from the scene, her eyes straightened to less wonky gaze this beautiful image was soiled. To bronies it seemed like Hasbro has regrets, and that the iron wall is being erected again between viewers and the creative team.

It frightened and mobilized many bronies, they did not only do it for Derpy and for justice, they wanted Hasbro to know that they are willing to fight for this relationship and are not going to let it slip by just because of few people who have no sense of humor. This fear turned to anger as people, individuals felt powerless and that their effort and love was in vain before the big and blind Hasbro corporation just like their love has been vain in front of everything else in this world. This anger manifested in a lot of agitation and poor behavior in turn with younger bronies who still are not capable to handling such emotions with grace.

Derpy matters to us, not because she is "derpy" but because she is a little piece of our collective hearts in the show, we do not love her solely because she looks silly, but because she is the child of the fandom, gift to us in the show, gift to Hasbro is Hasbro ever chooses to utilize her as a toy and I am sure it is not a complete pain to add her into scenes for the animators either. This special relationship we fans and MLP has is something no other TV show ever has had and we all understand its fragility as it is unique and rare situation first and hopefully not last of its kind.

The sheer volume of fan art, music, animations, articles and fiction already speaks about how empowered and accepted we feel. This storm of creativity is manifestation of a new form of friendship between concepts, fandom, producers and creators all coming together to create and revel in culture that understands the individualistic value and effort of working together, as each their own selves in what ever they know best. Akin to Winter Wrap Up.

So, bronies felt scared and saddened when they felt this all to slip away, and they decided to try harder to make it obvious they do not want it, they are willing to do what it takes to save this relationship. All they want in turn is a little trust, understandably that is hard to come by but perhaps it is worth it. It will fortify the fandom all the more in the end.